Quimper Peninsula facts for kids
The Quimper Peninsula is a narrow piece of land that sticks out into the water in Washington state, in the northwestern United States. It's the most northeastern part of the larger Olympic Peninsula.
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How the Quimper Peninsula Got Its Name
This peninsula is named after a Spanish explorer named Manuel Quimper. He was born in Peru but worked for Spain. In 1790, he sailed a ship called the Princess Royal and drew maps of the northern and southern coasts of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The Spanish originally called what is now New Dungeness Bay "Quimper." Later, another explorer, George Vancouver, renamed it New Dungeness. In 1838, Charles Wilkes tried to name the peninsula "Dickerson." But eventually, the U.S. Coast Survey decided to use Quimper's name for the peninsula, and that's what it's called today!
Where is the Quimper Peninsula?
The Quimper Peninsula has water on three sides. To its west is Discovery Bay. To the north, you'll find the Strait of Juan de Fuca. And to the east, there's Port Townsend Bay.
The peninsula starts as a narrow strip of land and stretches about seven miles north. Then, it curves northeast for another four miles, ending at a spot called Point Wilson. For most of its length, it's less than four miles wide. This land acts as the western edge of Admiralty Inlet, which is a waterway connecting to Puget Sound. Its center is around the coordinates 48°5′N 122°50′W.
Life and Communities on the Peninsula
Even though the Quimper Peninsula is a bit separate from the rest of Jefferson County, Washington, it's the most developed and populated part of the county. Port Townsend is the main city here. It's the county seat, meaning it's where the county government is located.
Other communities on the peninsula, south of Port Townsend, include Cape George, Port Hadlock, Irondale, and Chimacum. When people say "Quimper Peninsula," they often mean Port Townsend and all these nearby towns together.
Early People of the Peninsula
When the first non-native explorers arrived in the late 1700s and settlers came in the mid-1800s, there weren't any permanent Native American villages on the northern part of the peninsula. This was because fresh water was only easy to find from streams at the southern end.
The Chimakum people lived along the southeastern shore of the peninsula. Members of the S'Klallam tribe lived along the southwestern shore.
Because of strong ocean currents in Admiralty Inlet, Native Americans traveling between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound often carried their canoes across the Quimper Peninsula. They used a prairie they called Kah Tai, which is now part of Port Townsend. This allowed them to avoid the difficult currents by moving their boats over land.
